42 



dency to separate the functions of stamens and pistil is 

 much more pronounced in some other flowers, as we shall 

 see when we refer to this later on. A third rather common 

 form is the Slender Teatree, found in damp sandy heaths. 

 The leaves are regularly oval. The fruit is small tor the 

 genus and quite flat-topped : also, it becomes rather fleshy 

 at maturity. 



We have five different shrubs, commonly known as 

 Bottlebrushes. They owe their name to the peculiar 

 arrangement of their flowers. These are formed many at 

 a time. They are without stalks, and arranged close 

 together, so as to form a dense mass of flowers closely 

 massed towards the ends of the branches. The sepals and 

 petals are small, but the stamens are long and stand 

 straight out, so that when in bloom the whole has very 

 much the appearance of a bottle-cleaner. These five plants 

 belong to two genera, four in one and one in the other 

 Having no very distinct popular names, it will be neces- 

 sary to u?e their botanical ones. The first is Melaleuca ; 

 the second, Callistemoii. Melaleuca means black-white r 

 in allusion to the shades of bark seen on a shrub by an 

 early observer. Callistemon means beautiful stamens, and 

 as in many Australian species these are a brilliant red., 

 we can feel more sympathy with this name than we can 

 with the other. The two genera are very close, and run 

 into one another. They differ in general appearance, biit 

 the principal coixtrast is that in Melaleuca the stamens 

 are arranged in five definite bundles, with their filaments 

 more or less united below. In Callistemon they are vari- 

 ously arranged, according to the species, but never so 

 clearly collected into five bundles. In our Melaleucas the 

 union of the stamens is very short, so that the distinction 

 is less pronounced than it is in most mainland forms. In 

 both genera the anther cells are parallel, and attached 

 to the filament in the middle of its back. There are other 

 Australian genera that differ mainly in another form of 

 anther. In all our Bottlebrushes the base of the flower 

 is buried in the bark, and the fruit persists during life 

 so that the old capsules may be seen still on the bark, 

 marking each year's flowering. The floral tube is united 

 to the ovary, and extends beyond it; the five small sepals 

 are persistent; the petals are small, and much exceeded 

 by the numerous stamens. The other details of the flower 

 do not differ materially from the condition found in 

 Teatree. 



